The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-28
WON BY THE VOLUNTEER
THE THISTLE BEATEN 1s MINUTES
IN "a MILES.

Capt. Barr Childishly Insinuates that
the Scotch Cutters Bottom was Tam
pered With - The Yankee Sloop
Showed Her Superiority from the
Start.
NEW YORK, Sept. 27.-The Scotch cutter
Thistle and the American sloop Volunteer
have met in the first of the 1887 contests for
the Americas cup, and the Volunteer beat
the foreigner so badly that the latter's most
enthusiastic champions have only to say
that something inexplainable is the matter
with the Thistle. 1t was great day. The
people who went down on the 300 steam
ships, river steamboats,, tugs, steam
yachts, sailing yachts and boats
improvised for the occasion numbered
easily $4,000. and the scene presented by the
mass of craft before, at, and after the start
cannot be described. They covered vast
area, and they keptup noise throughout the
race that startled people who came from
Europe to witness the contest. The inces-
sent gun firing and steam whistling called
forth the widest kind of enthusiasm which
interfered with the duties of officials of the
race.
POOR PROSPECTS
The great hotilla covered the ground off
Owls Head in way that made it doubtful
if a decent start could be made, while the
elements indicated mo race" from early
morning. There was no sign of breeze
and a dirty haze hung over the water
Indicative of continuously thick
atmosphere and poor view
of the race. With favorable surroundings
the race would have been started at 10: 80
pfo y11n hrlt at hot
was not air enough to blow match out,
and the judges on Commodore Gerry's
Electra waited to start the racers until there
should appear chance of getting the boats
over the course within the prescribed seven
hours. That appearance did not come until
noon.
COMING OF THE BREEZE.
At that time ripple came over the water
from the southwark and eastward and the
signal was given to clear the course. The
Thistle and Volunteer had come out from
their respective anchorages off Tompkins-
vile, S. l., and Bay Ridge, and were drift
ing about north of the line that had been
formed between the Electra and Bouy 1S,
opposite Owls Head. on the Long Island
shore. The Thistle soon began to
move about in a very lively fash
ion in the light air. She appeared to
take mnch pleasure in running past and
around the Volunteer, which she did
several times, and every time met with loud
appreciation from the admiring spectators,
all of whom seemed confident that she
would, and were willing if she could, win
the first race. At 1920 o'clock the Electra
fired the preparatory gun and at II 30 o'clock
the gun to start After the latter the yachts
had five minutes to cross the line.
OFF ON THE CRUISE.
If either had taken longer than five min
utes, her time in the start would have been
registered at the expiration of five minutes.
The boats crossed as follows:
Thistle .................. .ia:ss:os Is q
VOLUNTEER er.................,.... .....: 1874 5S
The Thistle not $50, had the rear position,
when the start y .s'ven but she also went
through the water faster. So she got over
the line / minute and So seconds ahead
The eight miles an hour wind was then
from the south southeast, and the yachts
had to sail close on the wind for the first
mark, buoy ten, on the southwest
spit, which bore south by west
three and a half miles The yachts went
over on the port tack, and at once the Vol
unteer began to overhaul the Thistle The
first tack was in toward Clifton, Staten
Island, and on that tack of fifteen minutes or
less the Volunteer showed such superiority
over the Thistle in weather that had been
written down as the foreigners best that
lett no doubt OF the result.
PASSING THE VISITOR.
The Volunteer went by the Thistle as
though the latter was anchored, and she
stayed in front to the end. The Thistle was
more than little bothered by excursion
boats on that first tack Steamers crossed
her bow and gave her much swash, but
after that the steamers hung to the Volun-
teer, the leader, and throughout the rest of
the day she suffered three times at least
as much as the Thistle did from the
way they kicked up the water and
shut off the wind. 1t was no longer race,
it was a procession The wind varied in
locality and strength. 1t shifted between
southeast and southwest, and sometimes
one boat had it when the other did not.
But the average made things pretty nearly
even, and the result was a most decisive
victory for the American sloop. Beatin, +,
stretching and running, with free sheets
the Volunteer outsailed the Thistle
HANDICAPPED GOING HOME.
On the run home she lost ground largely
on account of the way the accompanying
craft blanketed her. The first point, buoy
10, was reached on a beat. Buoy 5 was
fetched on stretch, as was the Sandy
Hook lightship, the outer mark. From the
lightship hack to buoy 10 was beam wind,
and from there home to buoy Is, off Fort
Wadsworth, it was a clear run before the
wind with SpinnakerS set.
The total distance was Uhirty-eight statute
miles Everywhere except on the run with
splnnakers, where excursion boats did so
much TO keep the wind from her, the Vol
unteer outsailed her antagonist. A further
description of the race would only be a
repetition of the above. The following
figures are given:
Elapsed Corrected
Start Finish. time time.
. Name. H. s. II. M.S II. ". $. II. NJ s.
Volunteer. 12:3i:5si< 5:2S:l6M 4:h3le 4:531S
Thistle =. II: 2:3]06 5:45:5234 5:l2:464 5:l24lA
MR. BELL NOT SATISFIED.
After the race James Bell, the principal
owner of the Thistle, said he was not at all
satisfied with the result. The Thistle, he de-
clared, had never moved so slowly through
the water. He was of the opinion
that there was 'something wrong
with the cutters bottom and she would be
hauled out of the water tomorrow with
view toward finding out what IL was. He
dld not consider that the race had been
sailed for that reason, and because the wind
was so shifting, the Volunteer often had the
advantage of breeze that the Thistle did
not feel. Besides the excursion boats
swashed the Thistle TO damaging extent.
Capt Barr, Of the Thistle, held the same
views He said that some of the crew had
been notified anonymously that the cutters
bottom had been ''doctored.n and the truth
would be ascertained before Thursday, the
day of the next race. Capt. Barr said he
had salad fba Thfefla avery ffma eho hnd